Tuesday, February 07, 2006

This may give Al Gore a new theme song. A Russian astronomer is predicting global cooling rather than global warming. He believes we will even experience a "mini Ice Age" between 2035 and 2045. The astronomer is Khabibullo Abdusamatov. He works at the Pulkovo Astronomic Observatory in St. Petersburg.

Abdusamatov says that changes in the earth's surface temperatures are a regular phenomenon. He says that the current global warming is due to increased solar activity. As the sun’s energy output and ultraviolet radiation increase, temperatures increase on earth. However, he says that activity will reach its peak, then decline within six or seven years. Temperatures will then begin to fall. The coldest period will occur 15 to 20 years after a major decline in solar activity, hence the prediction of a mini ice age between 2035 and 2045. I guess Al Gore’s children can blame George Bush’s children for global cooling at that time.

This has happened before in the Northern Hemisphere. Between 1645 and 1705, the temperatures dropped. Canals in the Netherlands froze solid. People in Greenland abandoned their houses because of Glaciers. They called it The Little Ice Age. It was caused by low solar activity. You might want to consider getting rid of your vacation home in Greenland now and investing in someplace warm.